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Mapping Possibility: Using Local Knowledge to Cultivate Alternative Futures
One of my hopes is to make information about places more accessible, not simply in the conventional sense of maps, demographics, or land use, but through the lens of possibility.
Every street, vacant lot, rooftop, park edge, neighbourhood, and microclimate possesses unique characteristics that shape what it could become. My goal is to collect, analyse, and distribute information that helps people recognise these overlooked potentials, particularly in relation to permaculture, urban interventions, and community-led design.
Rather than viewing cities and towns as fixed environments, I see them as living systems capable of continual adaptation. By understanding local conditions: sunlight, wind patterns, rainfall, soil quality, biodiversity, infrastructure, accessibility, social dynamics, and existing community assets - we can identify opportunities to transform underused spaces into revitalised, resilient, and adaptable places.
This information can support a wide range of initiatives.
In the realm of permaculture, it can help communities determine which crops, planting strategies, and ecological practices are best suited to particular microclimates. Small-scale food forests, edible streetscapes, rain gardens, community orchards, and regenerative landscapes become easier to envision when people understand the ecological strengths of their surroundings.
Within urban design, the same analyses can inform tactical urbanism and other low-cost interventions that improve neighbourhoods through experimentation. Temporary parklets, community gardens, pop-up markets, shared public spaces, green corridors, and pedestrian-focused improvements often begin with recognising latent opportunities that already exist within a place.
Furthermore, my interest extends beyond physical design alone.
Alternative food systems are inseparable from alternative social, cultural, and economic systems. A neighbourhood capable of growing more of its own food may also foster stronger relationships between residents, encourage knowledge sharing across generations, reduce environmental impacts, and strengthen resilience during times of uncertainty.
By making site-specific information openly available, I hope to lower the barrier for individuals, community groups, educators, designers, or local organisations who wish to initiate projects but may not know where to begin. Instead of requiring specialist expertise to assess an area's potential, accessible analyses can provide practical starting points that inspire local experimentation.
Importantly, this approach is not about prescribing a single vision for every place. Each community has different priorities, cultures, climates, and aspirations. The role of these analyses is to illuminate possibilities rather than dictate outcomes. They serve as tools that empower local decision-making, enabling communities to build systems that reflect their own values and contexts.
Over time, I envision creating an evolving body of knowledge that documents the possibilities of diverse sites and microclimates. These resources could combine ecological observations, design principles, local history, community knowledge, mapping, and practical recommendations into living documents that continually improve as people contribute their experiences.
Ultimately, I believe that many of the solutions to our environmental, social, and economic challenges already exist within the places we inhabit. What is often missing is not opportunity, but visibility. By helping people see their local environments differently, through careful observation, systems thinking, and collaborative design - we can cultivate more resilient landscapes, more connected communities, and more diverse local economies, one neighbourhood at a time.
